We all want to see a good Western, and Lionsgate knows it. Though 3:10 to Yuma doesn’t arrive until September 7, the studio will be slipping the movie into around 300 theaters for a sneak preview on September 2.

So if you’re near a theater this Sunday, keep an eye out for the 3:10 to Yuma. Directed by James Mangold, the film stars Russell Crowe as a Wild West outlaw, and Christian Bale as the sheriff entrusted to deliver him alive.

The Toronto Star has a review today, which says, “The screenplay by Halsted Welles, Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, working a short story by Elmore Leonard, goes beyond the obvious messages of delivering justice and making your sons proud of you.” Sounds like the screenwriters read more Elmore Leonard besides just this short story.

Elmore Leonard wrote this short story 57 years ago, and, friends, he already had it, I think. He makes people real in his crime fiction now and even then in his Western stuff. Who are they and how do they see things, who or what did they love? I only think Elmore had it back then because I admit I didn’t yet read the story (I will). I saw the first movie, of 50 years ago, with Glenn Ford and Van Heflin. Black-and-white, it had better than state of the art Western movie values. But movies and actors have gotten better, and Russell Crowe is having great fun fleshing out this very smart robber/killer who didn’t mind reading, sketching and appreciating better things, such as rare people of courage and goodness. What the new piece has, besides color, is the political angle that greedy railroad people were running not only the economy but also the government officials and the “justice” system, which makes Russell’s Ben Wade a little more than the darkest bad guy. The plot changes from the 1957 movie by a long shot. Christian Bale plays a rancher beleaguered by a debilitating Civil War injury and desperate efforts to support a wife and 2 boys in a drought. Can he take the captured killer Ben Wade onto a jail train heading from Contention to Yuma prison just to make some railroad money to make ends meet? Does it become more than just making a buck? Wade wouldn’t have been captured if he hadn’t hung around, after his ruthless gang left Bisby, just to get close to a pretty barmaid. Ain’t that Elmore? One reviewer nailed this in her lead: “Maximus meets Batman, and it’s a delicious battle of the acting wits and wills.” (Barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Killshot is a totally different animal, it’s a family affair. John Madden has been to Detroit three times to see Elmore. John even brought a cut of Killshot to Detroit for us to watch. Elmore and I went to Tornoto to watch the shoot. Elmore’s granddaugher, Megan Freels, was John Madden’s assistant and both Elmore and I have reviewed the script and made suggestions.

Yuma is a corporate matter. Columbia Pictures owns it. They made the original and they had the rights to the remake. They didn’t have to pay Elmore diddly-squat, and they didn’t.

I made that post after the opening because I didn’t want to sound like I was trying to spoil their triumph. If Elmore gets another Western deal out of this, it will be worth it. I’m just a bit of a pit when Elmore doesn’t get his props.

Jesus, no wonder almost none of Elmore’s comments were used—he ripped the movie up, down, and sideways.

That interview perfectly illustrates one of Elmore’s best and most endearing qualities, both as a person and as reflected in his writings—he’s a no-bullshit guy. Ask him a question and you get an honest answer. Nothing soft-pedaled, no Hollywood horseshit.

The same goes for his main characters—Jack Foley, Jack Ryan, Chili Palmer, Vincent Mora, Raymond Cruz…Like Elmore, they see things the way they are and tell it like they see it. Which is why we love them.

At the same time, I’m sure Elmore doesn’t care much about what’s been done in this movie, the changes and additions. As he often says, “they bought the story, they can do whatever they want with it.”

My favorite quote: “Why didn’t they remake one that didn’t work?”

Elmore Leonard is Mr. Straight Answer. If I ever write a book about him, a good title might be: Elmore Leonard: No Parsing Necessary. Or maybe Elmore Leonard, The Sanest Guy In America.

Sorry I had the date wrong, as Elmore first published Three-ten to Yuma in 1953, not 1950.

And I did get Elmore’s original short story, and I just read it.

SOME SPOILER MATERIAL FOLLOWS, SO WATCH!

The short story (25 pages in a paperback) is a good deal different than both movies. No rancher, no rancher’s disgruntled teen, no bringing Ben Wade to Contention on the trail, no Indians. Ben Wade wasn’t Ben Wade (Jim Kidd), and Dan Evans was a marshal, Paul Scallen, with a wife and three kids, including a daughter, not just two boys; and he had both good legs.
But even then, the main guys had personalities and were hardly one dimensional. We found out what they were thinking, feeling, saying, concisely and right on point, as we have come to expect from Emore. And the ending is more like the 1957 version than the new one, which had an ending that puzzled Elmore and, well, me.
I guess Russell’s character knew the outlaws reign over the plains was all but over, and he was smart enough to know how awful his gang members were, including himself. So I think it was symbolic that he shot them because they killed Dan, even though he shouted not to; also, he needed a new lease on life. If he had taken it to its logical conclusion, he would have killed himself, but he was too cool for that. He knew he could break out of Yuma again, and maybe visit another barmaid or two. As for Dan’s son having the drop on Ben Wade, that was symbolic too, since the kid was too good, brought up too well, to be a killer like Wade. A virtual friggin morality play broke out, don’t you know.
Shame on the producers, etc. for snubbing Elmore. But they are too stupid to know they need and needed Elmore more than he needs them. I’m sure he got a chuckle out of it in the end, as he seems more easy-going and forgiving now than he might have been in the past. People caught in the act of acting stupid. How many characters like that has Elmore written?

Can’t read the short story spoiler until I read the story. It’s in the queue. ;-D

Off topic: Nice job with the Italy trip report, Gregg. You’ve got to do more little writeups like that one.

Back on: Read Elmore’s reactions after I saw the movie, and I can appreciate both now. What’s with the missing EL answers, though? I can’t imagine the questions being asked and Elmore just sitting there, tight-jawed, holding back his anger (or whatever) until the next question is asked. If the press release wonks edited out some of his answers, they should have also taken out the (presumed) unanswered questions.